Westbank Bureau Chief
Times Picayune
Dear Andrea,
I am sorry but I was hoping for something more than your statement to
former Task Force member Glenn Orgeron that you will "continue to write about both sides of
the argument" regarding the toll renewal issue. I was hoping, after you
read the report - as you indicated you might do - that the Times Picayune would
fairly present both sides of the argument.
First, let's establish that the Times Picayune has, in fact, taken an anti-toll
position. For this I point to a webcast on nola.com posted on Thursday,
February 23, 2012, 3:04 PM where you and Paul Rioux were interviewed for On Politics. (Click on "On Poitics" to hear webcast.) Here are some of the phrases used:
·
"The
good news is that
they expire at the end of the year," (by the commentator)
·
"Most Westbank residents want them to
expire."
·
Those
that don't want the tolls to expire are "primarily representing
business groups" and wondering "how much they might lobby
to renew the tolls."
·
"Sadly there is a contingent that feels that
you have to renew the tolls."
First, several of these statements are not even true. When you say, "most Westbank residents," you seem to have forgotten those who belong to citizens' groups like the Algiers Point Association, Friends of the Ferry and the Algiers Neighborhood Presidents Council. All have come out in support of the tolls. If you are referring to Rep. Pat Connick's "Public Hearing" which was held the day before the report became public, not only had no one read it, one man shouted, "I ain't reading no damn report!"
I think it would be more accurate to say, "Those who have read the report support the tolls and those who have not, do not."
As for the statement, "primarily business groups," I would you assume
you were referring to those represented on the Task Force: Jefferson Business
Council, Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), Harvey
Canal Industrial Association, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Algiers Economic Development Foundation,
Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry, St. Bernard Chamber of
Commerce and Westbank Redevelopment Corporation, Inc.
To that list you can also add: New
Orleans City Council, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Gretna Mayor Ronnie
Harris, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Old Main Street Algiers and Transport
for NOLA. It would have been far more accurate to say, "Virtually
EVERY organization in the Greater New Orleans area supports the
tolls." That, in fact, is the truth.
Here are five examples of how the TP's opinion has spilled over into its "news" articles.
1. Why was the Task Force not interviewed for this webcast? Is it not routine journalistic integrity to present both sides of the story? When a newspaper censors the information the public receives, they virtually craft public opinion to reach the same conclusion they have.
2. The DOTD's meeting before local officials: Your Feb. 24th article, State presents post-toll plan for Crescent City Connection, states, "Briefed Friday on the state's plan for maintaining the Crescent City Connection after tolls expire at the end of the year, about two dozen local officials generally responded favorably…"
I was not at this meeting but heard about it from Gretna Mayor Ronnie Harris, NOLA Councilwoman-at-large, Jackie Clarkson and NOLA Councilwoman Kristen Palmer. All used virtually the same phrase, "What meeting was he at? Because he sure wasn't at the meeting I was at." (In fact, this is a refrain I heard often from my fellow Task Force members.)
In fact, most did NOT "respond favorably." It was a heated
discussion and virtually everyone there made it clear they could not AND
WOULD NOT pick up the expenses of lighting, grass-cutting, etc. In fact,
the headline should have been, "The bridge will go dark!" The
subheading could have been, "But don't worry, you won't be able to see it
over the grass."
3. The "transition to a toll-free bridge" debate: While many TP articles were accurate when analyzed sentence by sentence, oftentimes ninety percent of the article represented ten percent of the meeting, giving the public a skewed sense of the real issues.
This was especially true in the early articles where the Task Force discussed whether we were to consider tolls as a possible funding source. On at least three occasions, although this topic took perhaps 20 minutes out of a three hour meeting, it was the sole focus of the article. The rest of the meeting was informational, discussing such issues as how the DOTD would not provide "essential services" like bridge lighting, regular grass-cutting and maintenance. Most troubling was that now the CCC Bridge would have to compete with 13,000 other bridges and 16,000 miles of roadway for scarce Transportation Trust Funds. AND THERE WAS ALREADY A SEVEN YEAR WAITING LIST ON THE HIGHWAY PRIORITY PROGRAM.
That should have been the headline! This is news! These are the issues! In fact, these meetings occurred before we even discussed funding sources. Yet the only issue the paper deemed important - even after four legal opinions and the inability of Rep. (and attorney) Pat Connick to find anyone to give us a counter opinion - was whether we should be looking at any option other than letting the tolls expire.
But the loss of essential services was not the story Paul Rioux wanted to tell. It was as if we being shamed into forming a predetermined conclusion: That the tolls must go.
4. The Task Force Speaks Before New Orleans City Council Transportation Committee: Although this meeting was announced in the Times Picayune, it was not deemed worthy to cover. For the first time the public heard, in depth, the reasons the Task Force was recommending renewing the tolls. Both Jackie Clarkson and Kristin Palmer were obviously pro-toll as was EVERYONE in attendance with the exception of Janet Hower from the Bureau of Governmental Research who was there defending her own report. Yet this meeting was not deemed important enough for the TP to cover?
5. The Task Force Report has never been reported on. I think that speaks for itself. Although the Task Force met twice a month for seven months and the whole purpose was to come up with real answers on how the bridge could survive effectively without tolls, when the culmination of all that work determined, "IT CAN'T," the reasons for these findings were never reported?
On Tuesday, March 20th, former Task Force member Pamela Lormand-Bialous and CCC Oversight Authority member Dr. Skip Gallagher appeared on Garland Robinette's radio show on WWL. (Click on "Garland Robinette" to hear radio show.) At least three times during the broadcast, Garland used phrases like, "I didn't know that," "I've never heard that before," and "I've learned a lot." It was obvious that this smart guy, when he finally heard the facts, began to realize there might be benefit in continuing the tolls.
If, as was expressed in your webcast, "Most Westbank residents want the tolls to expire," then those folks have concluded that based upon the information they have been given. By the sole daily newspaper in New Orleans censoring the information the public receives, the Times Picayune has effectively ensured that their readers will come to the same conclusion they have: That the tolls must go.
That the Times Picayune formed this opinion WITHOUT READING THE TASK FORCE REPORT is especially egregious.
Fay Faron
President, Friends of the Ferry
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